What do you prioritize in your website or online marketing plan?

Maybe you have a website that needs a redesign. Perhaps you are considering jumping into social media to try to boost your marketing results. When considering your online presence, there are many factors that you might be considering including how it looks, what platforms to consider and what content to post are just a few. As John Jantsch, the Founder of Duct Tape Marketing recently wrote for Entrepreneur Magazine; “In order to successfully master this marketing balancing act, you must set and stick to a well thought out strategy.”. Without a strategy, it’s like driving around without a map (or a GPS!). As the saying goes, “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there”.

So, what issues should you focus on in your online strategy? First you need to think about your overall business goals that include your brand and how it should be perceived in the marketplace. Then you should factor in your unique value proposition; what makes your brand, products or services stand out from the competition. Consider your target audience. That will inform you as to what they might be looking for and where they are looking.

All of these factors will then help you define a strategy. But before jumping into designing your website, focus on the purpose and functionality. As Mr. Jantsch goes on to say, “Many businesses, large and small, make the mistake of over thinking design and forgetting function. A website makeover will not automatically lead to better sales or more traffic. There are simply too many competing websites out there to depend on aesthetics as your website’s driving force.” This has been a focus of our website development approach throughout our history. This is why we lead with consultation: “A critical component of any web or IT plan, we have the experience to participate in the development of a strategy to identify business goals and opportunities in order to evaluate which design approach or technologies would best improve business processes.” (http://ebiztechonline.com/services/) Only after defining and considering your strategy, can the implementation plan be established. With the strategic goals in mind, measures can be defined as to the success of your website or marketing efforts.